Report

Institute for Future Strategy, Seoul National University — Democracy Cluster
2nd-Year Report

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the major achievements from the second-year research of the Democracy Cluster at the Institute for Future Strategy (IFS), Seoul National University. The cluster focused on three key areas:
(1) an in-depth analysis of the 2024 22nd National Assembly Election and exploration of political system reform measures,
(2) the development of a Democracy Perception Index for South Korea, and
(3) the design of a democracy education model for younger generations through youth mock elections and related studies, including proposals for revising the Public Official Election Act.

The ultimate aim was to diagnose the structural challenges of Korean democracy and to propose mid- to long-term solutions at both the institutional and civic levels.

First, the study on the 2024 general election and political system reform assessed that the 22nd National Assembly Election revealed signs of democratic regression, characterized by the disappearance of policy competition between major parties and deepened polarization. The research team identified institutional causes in the combination of a single-member district system and a presidential system without a runoff, analyzing how this structure intensifies the judicialization of politics, fandom politics, and emotional polarization. As potential reform measures, the study examined four institutional alternatives—linked proportional representation, multi-member districts, runoff voting, and structural reform of executive power—laying a foundation for policy recommendations in future research.

Second, the Democracy Perception Index development project sought to design survey instruments to empirically measure Korean voters’ understanding of democracy. Drawing on the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) framework, the team systematically reviewed existing domestic and international survey questions that assess public-level democratic awareness. Selected items were refined and supplemented to capture not only the de jure (legal/institutional) but also the de facto (practical/experiential) dimensions of democracy as perceived by ordinary citizens.

Third, the Youth Mock Election Project aimed to empirically evaluate civic competency through experiential learning spaces outside the classroom. Conducted between April and May 2024 across seven participating schools, the project supported students in independently organizing and executing mock elections, followed by a presentation forum where participants shared their outcomes and reflections. Alongside this initiative, the research team developed a civic competency measurement tool focusing on seven sub-factors: intention to participate in politics, political interest, trust in politics, political efficacy, and political tolerance. The analysis found statistically significant improvement among students who served as election committee members, showing higher levels of political interest, participation awareness, and tolerance compared to those who only participated as voters. These findings confirm the educational effectiveness of experiential political learning and underline the need for amendments to the Public Official Election Act to institutionalize youth mock elections in Korea.

Keywords:
Democratic regression, political system reform, general election, electoral system, proportional representation, democracy perception index, civic competency, youth mock election, political education, Public Official Election Act amendment